Trump asserts that the United States and Iran are nearing a nuclear agreement.
President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that the United States is nearing a nuclear agreement with Iran, following a fourth round of discussions between the two parties over the past weekend. The U.S. expressed that it was “encouraged” by Iran’s receptiveness to Washington’s approach following the discussions on Sunday in Oman. The Iranians, however, emphasized that significant distinctions existed between the two parties. “I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” Trump remarked at a business event in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, referencing military strikes on Iran. “There are two steps. There exists a notably positive development, juxtaposed with a starkly aggressive shift, characterized by unprecedented levels of violence.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, informed NBC News that Tehran is prepared to offer concessions in order to achieve a nuclear agreement with Washington. Nevertheless, he did not indicate any alteration in Iran’s paramount red line—its longstanding demand that Tehran retains the capability to continue enriching uranium. Trump and other senior officials have asserted that Iran ought not to possess an enrichment program as part of a new nuclear agreement. Shamkhani stated that Iran would pledge to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, eliminate its inventory of highly enriched, near weapons-grade uranium, and consent to enrich uranium solely at low levels of purity required for a civilian peaceful program.
Iran undertook all those measures as part of the 2015 nuclear agreement, from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 under Trump’s administration. “It remains a possibility. “If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Shamkhani told the broadcaster, adding, “it can lead to a better situation in the near future.” The most recent negotiations centered on articulating the U.S. viewpoint regarding the agreement, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Iran did not dismiss the proposals put forth by the U.S. Any conclusive determination regarding an agreement must be made by Iran’s highest authorities, encompassing the supreme leader.
